Brooklyn Investment Group Decreases Stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Brooklyn Investment Group lessened its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 533 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNM. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Boston Common Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 69,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,059,000 after purchasing an additional 11,373 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 34,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC raised its stake in Unum Group by 362.9% in the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 19,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 15,257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on UNM shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Unum Group from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.45.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,591.16. This trade represents a 15.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $227,565.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,554,355.24. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 107,914 shares of company stock worth $7,998,745 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $75.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.81. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $45.23 and a twelve month high of $77.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.60 and a 200 day moving average of $62.81.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Unum Group’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Unum Group Profile

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block segment. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products.